"John MacArthur on Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Israel, and Hermeneutics: A Few Comments" . As more and more information comes to Him, and as He has more and more experience in dealing with the issues of His universe, Hes getting better at being God. The second, after the conversion of the Jews. (Quoted in Iain Murray, The Puritan Hope: Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1971), 72. Its the same God, same terminology. 315K views 1 year ago Significant video editing was used to create a unique storyline that teaches about the end times, specifically premillennialism and amillennialism. Ive preached through many of the books of the Old Testament, the first eleven chapters of Genesis through Daniel, Zechariah, the minor prophets, and pieces and bits of Isaiah and others in the Old Testament. Thats for people who dont know this; that the way history ends, is with Jesus coming and taking us away. One says its not the kingdom. I asked Dr. Michael Brown, who is premil, in our debate about Replacement Theology how he reconciles his claim that God is not finished with Israel with Zechariah 13:79. Its the whole point of everything else. They believe that salvation can be gained and lost. Now, there are people who do this to Genesis 1, 2 and 3. Craig Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism They believe God elects nobody to salvation. Some people say, How in the world can you understand it? They understood it in China without anything but a Bible; they understood it in Central Asia without anything but a Bible; you take it at face value. Receiving Not Achieving. [2] "MacArthur calls himself a "leaky dispensationalist"--meaning he rejects any and all "dispensational" soteriological innovations, holding to classic Reformed (i.e., Protestant, not "covenantal") soteriology. Do you know - are you watching this media? We can interpret it the way we interpret any other passage of Scripture, with the same use of the normal, natural means of interpreting language, and we should; and it will yield for us as clear an understanding of the future as the Lord wants us to have. Death, where is your victory? Why would God wait nearly 2000 years to redeem a single generation of Jews only to have the antichrist wipe out two-thirds of them? I think it matters. Because, you see, if it doesnt mean what it says it means, then any suggestion is as bad as any other suggestion. Process theology: they are the theologians, liberal theologians, who believe that God is in process of becoming what He will be. You forfeit everything, and God gives it to somebody else - namely, the church - and we hope the church can do better than Israel or the church will forfeit it all as well. Dispensationalism continues to provoke heated debate within the Christian world. We understand that when you have a prophecy in the Bible that has not yet come to pass, not everything will be clear. Not that they were the only ones to be saved, but they were the ones through whom God will eventually reach, and even set up His Son to rule over the nations. Theres a rapture, and theres a bma seat judgment; we know that. Arminians - not Armenians, thats different; those who follow Arminius - did not believe in election. Who Are the Real Schismatics? I remember when I flew to Kazakhstan in about a 35 or 38-hour flight; got off the plane at 7:00 in the morning to speak at a conference. But we now have pure Israelites. This is postmillennialism at its best. In short, there shall be, as it were, a universal spread of religion and holiness to the Lord, throughout the world. Leave it to the semi-Pelagians and Pelagians, who go in and out of salvation; it makes sense for their theology. He comes pre, not post; He comes before. A Purchased Victory: A Conference on the Bright Hope of Postmillennialism, Website made by Chittam Technology Solutions, LLC. Particular to this framework is the eschatological position known as "premillennial dispensationalism" which holds that Christ will return prior to a literal one-thousand-year reign on earth. I think He cares that we get it right, thats why He wrote it, and I think He understands that His glory is at stake, and our hope and comfort is at stake and the evidence of Gods massive moving in history is at stake with regard to the future. They will die for that truth regarding the church, but unashamedly abandon that same truth for the elect nation of Israel. He is the author, co-author or co-editor of fifteen books and more than eighty articles in journals or multi-author works. Through the work of Ladd, historic premillennialism gained scholarly respect and popularity among Evangelical and Reformed theologians since he had the right appreciation of the redemptive- historical significance of the first coming of Christ and of the NT age. I dont know about you, but I really cant get too worked up about greenhouse gases. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as "chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . For this perishable must put on the imperishable, this mortal must put on immortality. And then he goes on to talk about the fact that in that moment, in that event, Death is swallowed up in victory. So here, we are living in the view of our eschatological triumph in Christ: the glory of the Rapture, the last trump, rising from the grave, made imperishable and immortal. He asked what the amillennialist would say if the Jew asked about the kingdom and the blessings. Show it to me. All rights reserved. The Savoy Declaration, drawn up in October 1658 by English Congregationalists meeting at the Savoy Palace, London, included the conversion of the Jews in its summary of the Churchs future hope: We expect that in the latter days, Antichrist being destroyed, the Jews called, and the adversaries of the kingdom of his dear Son broken, the churches of Christ being enlarged and edified through a free and plentiful communication of light and grace, shall enjoy in this world a more quiet, peaceful, and glorious condition than they have enjoyed. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. This morning John MacArthur opened the 2007 Shepherd's Conference with a loud blast that will no doubt be heard around the Reformed world in the coming weeks. (Quoted in DeJong, As the Waters Cover the Sea, 38.). Contrary to MacArthur, the historical record demonstrates that postmillennial Calvinists had developed a prophetic role for the Jews hundreds of years before Scofield. He has also written or edited nearly four hundred books and study guides. O.T. All right, thats the introduction. No other study Bible does such a thorough job of explaining the historical context, unfolding the meaning of the text, and placing it within a theological The Millennium is the reign on earth of Jews who accept Christ John MacArthur, Because the Time is Near: John MacArthur Explains the Book of Revelation (Moody, 2007). Darby, that came out of that whole dispensational system no, it didnt. Dispensational premillennialism (DP) offers the most complex chronology of the end times.It argues that the current church age will end with the rapture of the church (cf. An article by John MacArthur: "The common question of which Bible translation to use is very important--it concerns the most important words ever spoken, the words of God the Creator. I had, as theologians might call it, my own my own ordo eschaton; that would be the chronological sequence of the end times. Why TMS? And so, you have to change the rules of interpretation and once you say the Bible doesnt mean what it says, then we have no idea what it means. John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, editors Moody Publishers 2012-02-21 Five faculty members of The Master's Seminary have written an excellent primer on what they call "futuristic premillennialism." This is a strong defense of pretribulational dispensational premillennialism. Isaiah 65 - really, the whole chapter is about Israel, Gods elect - verse 22: My elect again shall enjoy long the work of their hands. Israel repeatedly called Gods elect; we know what that means. Or another way to say it would be this: how many of you have attended an amillennial prophecy conference? John MacArthur claims to be a Dispensationalist in both The Gospel According to Jesus (GAJ) and The Gospel According to the Apostles (GAA). He is best known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio programme Grace to You and has been the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California since February, 1969.He is also currently is the President of The Master's University in Newhall, California and The Master's Seminary in Los Angeles . Ive written about this in several places. The other says there will be a kingdom. Certainly, you have no idea what it means - neither does anybody else. Arminius did not believe in election; those who follow him do not believe in election. First of all, we commend Dr. MacArthur for his solid Biblical position on Israel, and that Israel has a glorious future in the plan and purpose of God. See, for example, Michael Vlach's article "How Does Historic Premillennialism Differ from Dispensational Premillennialism?", this "Eschatology Comparison" chart, and this article "An Historical . Basically he said that when people spiritualize or allegorize the first three chapters of Genesis we call them Liberals, but when they do the same with the prophetic Scriptures we call them amillennialists. Now, understanding the future is you know, thats a general statement that you would be blessed - but look at just a couple of other things quickly. Prior to that I thought about it a lot. So, if were going to change the rules of interpretation to inject into Scripture a preconceived idea or to avoid what is obvious, we better be sure that we have a word from God. He told me he would study the issue and get back to me. It has not appeared as yet what we shall be. - comfort one another. They also think that there is not to be a literal thousand-year kingdom as such, but thats just metaphoric for a long time; and it simply indicates whatever the duration of that period where the influence of the church dominates the world, after which Christ returns. Now, Ive been telling you for a number of months that we were going to get into the subject of eschatology, the doctrine of last things. Now, frankly, its too late for John Calvin to fix his work, although he is now a premillennialist in heaven. You get Israel right when you get the Old Testament covenants and promises with Israel right. Israel sinned, youre out. Now, I told you a few weeks ago why people believe that, because they want to get God off the hook so Hes not responsible for evil; but Hes happy to take the responsibility for allowing evil for His own glory. He confronts the views of covenant theology, historical premillennialism, ultradispensationalism, and, in this revised edition, the increasingly popular progressive dispensationalism. Allis - well-known - says, The Old Testament prophecies if literally interpreted cannot be regarded as having been yet fulfilled or being capable of fulfillment in the present age. Thats true. Highly acclaimed theologian Dr. Charles C. Ryrie addresses this crucial issue from the perspective of classic dispensationalism. Major proponents J. N. Darby, C. I. Scofield, John Walvoord, A. C. Gaebelein, Charles Ryrie, Lewis S. Chafer, J. Dwight Pentecost, Charles C. Ryrie, But people are upset because MacArthur so badly misrepresented amillennialism, and because he defined "premillennialism" as though it were dispensationalism. Did He do it and somehow muddle it so hopelessly that the high ground for Bible students and the high ground for theologians is to recognize the muddle and abandon the perspicuity or the clarity of Scripture on that subject? It matters to me. Weve been working our way through doctrinal emphases in Scripture, doctrinal themes, and we have covered a lot of ground. From the material available online today, many would conclude that "historic premillennialism" refers to the teaching of 20th century theologian George Elton Laddand no other view. The end is as divinely designed as the beginning, and God has given us massive amounts of revelation in the Scripture about the future. But if you read Genesis 1 to 3, its pretty clear the evening and the morning were the first day, the evening and the morning were the second day, the evening and the morning were the third day. I know where history is going. It is narrative history, and we fight - sometimes tooth and nail - to maintain the literal veracity of Genesis 1 through 3. But we distributed that, and I arranged - and I dont know when its going to happen for you - I arranged to get a copy for every family at Grace Church as a gift. The Rise of Philo-Semitism and Premillennialism During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), which, along with the appearance of the Antichrist, marks the beginning of the seven-year great tribulation on earth. The other view is whats called openness theology, and its the same thing; it simply means God has no idea what the future is. Let me condense that down, just squeeze it down to about 350 pages, because if people read this and understand it, theyre going to be blessed by God. And they said, Sure.. Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. Now it is time to reestablish the high ground of sovereign grace for a future generation of ethnic Israel in salvation and the messianic earthly kingdom. Fundamental And there are a lot of people who get the first one right - they get election right - and they dont get Israel right, and they are lost when it comes to eschatology. You would assume that they are confused because the Bible is confusing, and if the Bible is confusing, then God Himself is confused, and so, working hard - and it is often hard work - to understand prophetic passages is needless. "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Pre-Millennialist." For those of you who don't know, this was a statement, among others, that John MacArthur was recorded as making at the recent Shepherd's Conference 2007 at Grace Community Church, Sun Valley California. Scofield, that came out of J.N. Now, the truth of the matter is, those are just two ways to look at the same thing; postmillennialism and amillennialism is really the same thing. Every promise God made to Abraham about his lineage inheriting the land of Palestine has been fulfilled! Historically, church fathers favored historic premillennialism, including Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Hippolytus. . Relax; set all that aside. It therefore teaches responsibility. This is process theology. Short Response to Dr. MacArthur's statement. Did God do this but somehow mumble? The amil guy, MacArthur said, would have to say that things have changed, those promises no longer apply to you, we have them now and this is the kingdom. Along that line, I went to Moody Press and I said, Look, Ive written two volumes on Revelation - I dont know, its 800 or 900 pages - and I realized not everybody is going to go through all of that. Ive been teaching and preaching the Bible expositionally now for over 40 years, one verse at a time. Dispensationalism is perhaps a key reason why evangelicals have such a concern with what happens to the nation of Israel. Continue reading He made an interesting connection between Genesis and Revelation. Thats just two ways to look at the same thing. What some postmil critics fail to recognize is that postmillennialists have always had a significant role for the future conversion of Jews while premillennialists do not. One topic I did not mention is the place of Israel in prophecy at it relates to postmillennialism. A History of Christian Zionism: Philo-Semitism and the Expectation of Israel's Restoration. And the longer I think about it and the more I study the Scripture, the clearer it becomes to me. For example, the book is well-organized. . Romans 11:28 . Now, if you want to get the future right, youve got to get Israel right, and youve got to get Gods sovereign electing purpose right. How do you explain that? Because we dont want you to incur expenditure for which you are not prepared, could you please confirm whether you are willing to pay this charge, if necessary? Only now has it happened, and so His promises may not be trustworthy, since they were given in the past, before so many things happened that He didnt know were coming to pass. ), We have, hence, sufficient ground to conclude, that, when these prophecies shall have their accomplishment, the interest of Christ shall be the prevailing interest in the world, which it has never yet been in all respects; so that godliness shall be as much and as universally valued and esteemed, as it has hitherto been decried, and it shall be reckoned as great an honour to be a Christian, as it has, in the most degenerate age of the church, been matter of reproach…. There is no doubt that he does hold to the fundamental distinction between the Church and Israel, though he does not always apply this distinction consistently. An Anglican - an Anglican - by the name of William Cunningham in 1815 wrote a book called The Premillennial Advent; he was anything but a dispensationalist. All right. John MacArthur's ministries, including Grace to You and Masters University, also employ a grammatical historical method of interpretation, and they come to a dispensational view of eschatology. Doctrinal Statement Student Testimonies TMS for your Family Academics Academics Overview Master of Divinity Master of Theology Doctor of Ministry Doctor of Philosophy Bachelor of Theology Diploma of Theology Center for Israeli Studies Distance Education Academic Calendar Tyndale Center for Bible Translation Craig Blaising and . You have this hope as a purifying hope. I said, Sure - Ill take all day Friday, Ill tell you the future. So, I just marched them through the order of the chronology of eschatology as its laid out clearly, both in the Old and the New Testament, and I finished. I have even called thee by thy name Isaiah 65:9: Mine elect shall inherit it - the promises of God. Revelation 1:3: Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it: for the time is near.. And at that judgment, well be recompensed for the deeds done in the body, whether they are good or phaulos, meaning useless. GDPR is the new European privacy regulation, which will replace the Data Protection Act 1998 in the UK and the equivalent legislation across the EU Member States. An Excellent Defense of The Rapture by Dr. John MacArthur But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. This is simply a way to understand Scripture in its normal sense. First John 3 verse 2: Beloved - 1 John 3:2 Now are we the children of God. Some of them are postmillennialists, although there are fewer and fewer of those. Now, talking about eschatology is not without controversy. They are certainly available (or they should be) in the library at MacArthurs Masters Seminary. Ridgeley knew his history well enough to know that the majority of theologians in the seventeenth century held to an advancing kingdom through the proclamation of the gospel which includes the future conversion of the Jews. Because they believed that the Jews would be converted, Puritan and Presbyterian churches earnestly prayed that Pauls prophecies would be fulfilled. Not one reference anywhere in Scripture - and there are over two thousand, referring to Israel - means anything other than Israel. Blessed. Dr. MacArthur picked this fight. And Im not into all kinds of complex charts, and Im not into all that is traditionally known as dispensationalism - seven dispensations, two kingdoms, two New Covenants, two ways of salvation, discontinuity between the Old Testament and the New - Im not talking about that. So, this is a classic perfect fit for Arminian theology. They explain, "As a refinement of dispensational premillennialism, futuristic millennialism affirms a futuristic view . But even more interesting, in England in 1827, there was a publication affirming premillennialism, the coming of Christ and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, written by a Jesuit priest - reading his Bible - by the name of Manuel de Lacunza y Diaz. Postmillennialists think things are going to get better. This year they upgraded some snacks and are handing out Zone protein bars, a major enhancementhowever, I am really missing my family. And I ask the question: are we supposed to be comfortable with the notion that the hard and fast and true principles of Bible interpretation have to be set aside in prophetic texts? You never met a Hittite, an Amorite, a Hivite, a Jebusite, or any other ite. They have long since morphed into the melee and the mix of the races. But let me tell you something: normal, natural, literal interpretation is the only way to stop abuse of Scripture. And youve been great tonight; this is more like a theological lecture. I think it matters to God. Hes improving; Hes definitely on the upward curve. How could they believe unless He caused them to believe? There is another form of that view called amillennialism; amillennialism - and youve probably heard about that. In his commentary on John 3:33, John Calvin wrote: "To believe the Gospel is nothing else than to assent to the truths that God has revealed." The sort faith that MacArthur rejects is what the Bible requires. We know that when He appears, - second coming we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. Theres a recovery of premillennialism in the modern era, and the recovery of premillennialism in the modern era came from two very unlikely sources. Instead, MacArthur systematically unpacked the biblical theology that leads one to an unabashed Calvinistic eschatology. And that was over the gospel, and over the nature of Christ, and over salvation by grace through faith and over the authority of Scripture. Because when you understand Gods purpose for Israel, you now have the foundation for all eschatology; all eschatology. He will return to an increasingly wicked earth, He will come in fiery judgment, He will judge all the ungodly of all the earth, and then establish His rule and His kingdom forever. They didnt really get to the front of ecclesiology either, the study of the church, but those two kind of go together - as well see in this study - in some very fascinating ways. I was talking to one of our missionaries just this same week I gave this talk to the pastors, and he was coming back from China and he said, Theres only one view in the church in China and its the premillennial view. Of course, because they just take what Scripture says. He doesnt know the future because it hasnt happened. We know that, so our ambition is, when we get to that place, to be rewarded because we are pleasing to Him. Post-Millennialism, in stark contrast to Pre-Millennialism, believes that the Millennium occurs before Jesus' Second Coming rather than after. In fact, I understand sovereign electing grace much more clearly than I ever have in the past, and I also understand Gods sovereign electing purpose for Israel more clearly than Ive ever understood it. John MacArthur laid down the gauntlet on the issue of prophecy in his opening talk at the 2007 Shepherds Conference that was titled Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Premillennialist. He was emphatic that only premillennialism takes the prophecies concerning the future of Israel seriously. I reject the wacky world of newspaper exegesis and cartoon eschatology, and crazy interpretation like the locusts of Revelation 9 being helicopters, et cetera. John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, where he has served since 1969. And Im confident that God didnt reveal prophetic truth in so much detail to hide anything, to obscure the truth, but to reveal it for our blessing, our motivation and His glory. Theological Method of Premillennialism" in A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology, ed. If were going to change the rules, then, may I suggest this - and this is what I told the pastors - if were going to change the rules, then we better have a word from God. My professors were a Who's Who of dispensational premillennialism: John Walvoord (then president of DTS), Charles Ryrie (author of Dispensationalism Today and The Ryrie Study Bible ), and J. Dwight Pentecost (author of perhaps the most influential text on the subject at that time, Things to Come ), just to mention the more well-known. And he is suggesting, therefore, that we cant interpret them literally, because somehow, weve got to make them fulfilled in this age, because there is no future age. But they never got around to eschatology; they never got around to applying their formidable skills. The preconception is that we cant allow this to happen. I have - they can try to terrify me with all this stuff; I am unmoved. Death, where is your sting? / ( .) Jonathan Edwards, a noted postmillennialist and someone MacArthur quotes unfavorably in his Shepherds talk, outlined the future of the Christian Church in his 1774 History of Redemption. We chart the course and God reacts. So, I told the pastors at the conference, and the title of this talk is, Why every self-respecting Calvinist has to be a premillennialist. Because, if you believe in divine sovereign election, then you have to believe that as God will be faithful to His promises to His church, He will also be faithful to His promises to His elect nation Israel. MacArthur, John, and Richard Mayhue, eds. A Look at the Church of England, Sneak Peek Interview: Laura Wiflers New Childrens Book. Seventy percent - by the way - of Scripture is the story of Israel, start to finish. Its not nearly as difficult as some people make it if you just take Scripture at face value. His presentation was not an attempt to harmonize Calvinism with a premillennial view but rather to show the inconsistency of the contrary. (Edmonton, AB Canada: Still Waters Revival Books, [1855] 1993), 2:621. God filled the Bible with prophecy and much of it looking to the end. But not us, who live and breathe the rarified air of sovereign grace and election; it makes no sense to me. 13:79). So, we can set aside the idea that somehow this is rooted in wacky dispensationalism; it is not. Well see more about how that works. Regarding this Dr. Timothy Jones writes, "Dispensationalism emphasizes the differences and discontinuity between the physical descendants of Abraham and followers of Jesus [2]. Now, next time Im going to take you through a series of about five questions that were going to ask and see how this plays out on the pages of Scripture, okay? The church will move out of its own environs to capture nations, leaders, ideologies, philosophies, theories, religions, and bring them all into captivity to Christ. This makes two distinct judgmentsone for Christians and one for non-Christians after the millennium. We freely own, as what we think agreeable to scripture, that as Christ has, in all ages, displayed his glory as King of the Church, so we have ground to conclude, from scripture, that the administration of his government in this world, before his coming to judgment, will be attended with greater magnificence, more visible marks of glory, and various occurrences of providence, which shall tend to the welfare and happiness of his church, in a greater degree than has been beheld or experienced by it, since it was planted by the ministry of the apostles after his ascension into heaven. We sent you an email. These are dicult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand. See more on the author's page Sung Wook Chung First, the Antichrist would appear and a seven-year period of tribulation would commence. And I went there and I spoke for a week, and they finally said to me, When are you going to tell us the good part? and I said, Well, whats the good part? They said, We want to know about the future; we want to know about the future. So, I say, leave amillennialism to those kinds of people who do not believe in the sovereign, unilateral, irrevocable, divine electing power of God. And so, we stand steadfast, immovable. Look, I reject all of those really abusive and bizarre kinds of interpretation; but frankly, theyre no more wacky then the interpretations of the amillennialists, who want to take the entire book of Revelation and stuff it into the events of 70 A.D. and a few years afterwards and come up with things that are just as ridiculous.